FATA says underestimated Russian passenger traffic for June

The number of passengers traveling on domestic routes and to CIS countries shrank drastically, however (Leonid Faerberg / Transport-photo.com)

Russian airlines’ combined passenger traffic in June 2017 increased 20.2% year-on-year, not 18.4% as previously reported by the country’s Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA), it has been announced. According to the updated information, the number of passengers reached 10.405 million that month.

Passenger traffic on international routes to farther abroad continued growing at a record pace: it climbed 51.7% last month to 3.865 million passengers. The number of passengers carried between Russia and other CIS countries increased by just 3.3% to 551,600, compared to 18% in May. The combined total growth rate for the international segment stood at 43.3% with 4.417 million passengers served. Growth on routes within Russia slowed down at 7.4%, to 5.998 million passengers, against May’s 14.6% increase.

Oerall traffic growth for the first half of the year amounted to 21.5%, with Russian airlines carrying 46.241 million passengers, FATA reports.

Charter carriers demonstrated the highest growth rates, riding the wave of the reviving tourism flows to international leisure destinations. Nordwind Airlines managed to increase its operational results by 96.3% to 1.150 million passengers; Royal Flight, by 92.6% to 635,700; Pegas Fly, by 87.9% to 676,700 passengers, Ifly, by 80.8% to 244,000 passengers.

Russia’s largest airlines also continued to enjoy growing passenger numbers. Aeroflot saw its traffic increase 13.5% to 15.246 million passengers; Rossiya Airlines, by 66.9%; S7 Airlines, by 2.4% to 4.431 million; its sister airline Globus (both operate under the S7 brand name), by 41.9%; Ural Airlines, by 24.9% to 3.323 million; UTair Aviation, by 19.1% to 3.273 million passengers.